Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The Cuyahoga County Library Board is making plans to abandon the historic
Telling Mansion Library in South Euclid-Lyndhurst and to replace it with a new,
more expensive facility further from the center of the communities it serves. This move would be a great loss for the residents
of South Euclid, Lyndhurst,
and all Northeast Ohio.

Built in 1928, the Telling Mansion
Library is the former home of William Telling, a South Euclid resident, businessman, and
financier. The Library is a beautiful structure that is listed on the National Register
of Historic Places. The Mansion is a
part of the legacy of the city of South Euclid, lending
unique character to this community, and making it stand out among other Cleveland suburbs.

"The mansion is like a
dream of a library with beautiful leaded windows, a reading garden with a
fountain, and 26 different rooms. Among
them: a greenhouse, an aviary, and a cozy study. Although the past is very much alive here,
the needs of present-day library users—for new books, Internet access,
discussion groups, and homework help—are not neglected."

MANY REASONS TO SAVE TELLING LIBRARY

According to Branch Manager Steven Haynie, the TellingMansion
must be abandoned because it does not have “a layout conducive to public library
service for the 21st century.” The Library
Board also claims that a new building is needed to reduce staffing
requirements, provide more computer terminals, and provide larger meeting rooms
for the public. The Board plans to spend
$12 million to replace the existing library.

§Renovation of the TellingMansion—including energy upgrades and ADA accessibility modifications—is
estimated to cost $5.6 million. It seems
that the concerns of the Library Board could be addressed more economically by upgrading
the existing facility, and then building an addition to house functions such as
meeting rooms and tech centers, and at far less cost than $12 million.

This alone should give pause to all involved in the process. What is the justification for the unnecessary
expenditure of taxpayer dollars, and getting a less interesting building in
return?

§The proposed new library will be located on Green Road. This location is further from the center of South Euclid and entirely outside the boundaries of Lyndhurst. The TellingMansion is now just a ½ mile, or an
easy 10 minute walk, from MemorialJunior High School and BrushHigh School. The Green
Road site is 1-½ miles from the schools, or a half
hour walk. Students would be much less
likely to make this trek on foot, thus becoming more dependent on being driven
by their parents or on driving themselves.

§The proposed library location is also less accessible by transit
than the current location. The TellingMansion is on the RTA’s Number 9 Bus
route, with service running multiple times per hour, seven days a week. In contrast, the Green Road site is served by RTA’s Number
34 Bus, which runs only once per hour, and without evening or weekend coverage.
The new library will be less accessible to
those in the community who wish to use transit, and to those without cars, such
as the young, the elderly, and the poor.

§The Library Board wants the new library to meet LEED sustainable
building standards. But the renovation
of existing structures is an equally valid green building strategy. The benefit of renovation is that it conserves
the energy and resources already embodied in the existing structure. This includes the materials in the building, the
energy expended to manufacture those materials, and also the energy used to erect
the building in the first place.

A recent rigorous study
by the National Trust for Historic Preservation concluded: “It can take between
10 and 80 years for a new, energy-efficient building to overcome, through more
efficient operations, the negative energy and climate change impacts caused in
the construction process.”1

In a way, extending the life of historic buildings is a low-tech
method of carbon sequestration, as the CO2 used in building these
structures was released into the atmosphere long ago.

§In addition to the ‘greenness’ of the building itself, location also
matters when evaluating the overall sustainability of any structure. Walkscore is an online metric which rates any
address based on how easy it is to get around as a pedestrian. Places are rated on a scale from 0 (Almost
all daily errands require a car) to 100 (Walker’s
Paradise:
Daily errands can be accomplished on foot.) The Walkscore
for the Telling Mansion is 66, which is rated as “Somewhat Walkable.” The Walkscore
for the proposed library site on Green
Road drops to only 45, which is described as “Car
Dependent.”

Moving the library to the periphery of the two communities it
serves, and off the well-trafficked RTA bus line, will mean residents will have
to drive further to get to the building.
Longer car trips mean more carbon emissions. LEED certification alone does not guarantee
that a building is as sustainable as it can be.
A centralized location and access to multiple transit modes—car, bus,
biking, walking—also contribute to a building’s holistic sustainability.

Main Entry Hall

A MATTER OF CHARACTER

Perhaps the most compelling reason to keep the library in this
historic structure is this: The TellingMansion is an irreplaceable gem. A new library building will not have the quality, the history, and unique
identity that the Mansion does. The TellingMansion has Character. The new library
most likely will not.

Two exterior follies that are part of the TellingMansion.

Parma Library Branch by GPD Group. (Source: Plain Dealer)

Renderings of the proposed replacement South Euclid-Lyndhurst
library building are not yet available. But
GPD Group of Akron,
the firm that is doing the planning for the Green Road site, also designed the Parma
Branch, shown above. Judging by the
previous work of this firm, and by the other new branches built by the Library
Board over the last several years, one can get a sense of what the proposed new
library might look like.

Warrensville Heights Library Branch. (Source: Plain Dealer)

Does the above rendering depict a bank? A health club? A corporate headquarters? It’s really hard to tell WHAT kind of
function goes on inside; the building is so inscrutable in expression. Is there anything about this structure that
tells the passerby that it is a Civic building, a building for the benefit of
the public?

Parma Snow Library Branch. (Source: Plain Dealer)

The Parma Snow Branch resorted to putting the word “Library” on
the front of the new structure to clear up any ambiguity about the building’s
function.

AUTHENTICITY OF PLACE

There is also the question of Authenticity of Place in the new
libraries that the CountyLibrary system is
building. Is there anything about these
structures that tell you that they are in Northeast Ohio? The new branches, in form and material, feel
generic. They look as if they could just
as well have been built in Portland or Phoenix or Charlotte.

Telling Mansion Rear Elevation

The TellingMansion (while,
admittedly, is a re-creation of an English manor house) could probably not be
found in the cities listed above.

North Royalton Library Branch. (Source: Plain Dealer)

In addition, the new libraries built by the County Library System
all feel like they are interchangeable.
What distinguishes the North Royalton
branch from the Warrensville Heights and Parma branches? These are unique communities with their own
special histories. Why don’t the unique
qualities of these places inform the architectural expression of their library
buildings?

Our buildings should speak to the history and the culture that is
special to each of our communities. This
is not a discussion about architectural “style.” The new libraries can be modern or
traditional in expression. Designers are
free to choose the architectural language that is appropriate to each
particular project and community. But
our architecture should also reflect the accumulated knowledge of building
traditions and materials that have proven themselves to be durable over time,
and well-suited to the climate that is distinct to Northeast
Ohio.

Garfield Heights Library Branch. (Source: Plain Dealer)

A COMFORTABLE PLACE TO BE

Finally, is there anything in the renderings of these new
facilities that implies there will be a comfortable place to be found within? A spot to sit by a leaded-glass window, or
under a peacock feather ceiling, and read a book or work on your laptop?

A sunny window spot (clockwise from above left), stained glass in
the Main Stair Hall, a reading room (the former Breakfast Room) with peacock
feather ceiling treatment.

What are the chances that we are going to be able to speak about
the new South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library facility in the same glowing prose that author
Nancy Pearl of USA Today showered on the TellingMansion,
as quoted at the beginning of this post?

COMMUNITY INPUT ESSENTIAL

Before the library construction process proceeds further, the
prudent course would be to conduct a clear cost-benefit study comparing
renovation to new construction, including construction costs and long-term
operating costs. After a thorough and
transparent analysis, this information should be presented to the public. Then the informed citizens of South Euclid and Lyndhurst
should be allowed the chance to vote on the future of their library
building.

A Save the Telling Mansion Facebook group has formed to protest
the relocation of the library. Members
of the group have gathered 1,700 signatures on a petition

opposing the relocation. They have been protesting outside the mansion
on a regular basis. And they have been
attending City Council meetings and letting their voices be heard. Is there a corresponding group in favor of
relocation? Have they started a
petition? Have they been contacting
their public officials? If so, let all
voices be heard, and let a decision be made by the members of the community in
the full light of day.

The Cuyahoga County Library system is funded by the people. The Library Board exists to represent the
will of the people. The citizens and
library users of these two communities should be allowed to determine their own
fate, rather than have it dictated to them by a bureaucratic entity.

NEVER TOO LATE TO DO THE RIGHT THING

The planning process for the new library is well under way. The land on Green Road has been purchased;
preliminary traffic studies and site plans have been prepared. But architectural contracts can be
broken. Land can be sold. It is never too late to do the right thing,
and it is definitely never too late to save the taxpayers some $6 million.

We seem to want to continuously destroy our past, tear down our historic
buildings, and to trade irreplaceable craftsmanship for . . . mediocre, supposedly
efficient, dubiously ‘green’ new buildings.
We are abandoning our unique heritage and the varied character of our
communities in exchange for expedience and efficiency. And we are doing so at an alarming rate.

Irreplaceable Craftsmanship.

TAKE A STAND

Branch Manager Haynie states that the Library System “cannot
justify continuing to operate in a building that costs more but delivers less.” But this begs the question: Upon what criteria is the Library Board
measuring costs, and the resulting value delivered?

The beautiful and historic Telling Mansion Library brings intangible
but real benefits to the quality of life in South Euclid
and Lyndhurst.

We must take a stand for our history, our heritage, and our
community.

I so wish our elected public officials, especially the ones who appoint the Library Board would read this entire comment on the Telling Mansion and on keeping the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library there. It will be a travesty if this land and building are sold without any South-Euclid & Lyndhurst citizens having any say. The Library assured us they would make strenous efforts to protect this building and yet no restrictive covenants were written into any sale agreement. There exists no protection whatsoever for this wonderful building right now.

Excellent, well thought out article. I have, and continue to believe that moving the Library from the Telling site is a terrible mistake.

That said, even those of us who are completely against the move need to have a backup plan. As sad as it would be to see the Library move, it would be downright tragic if the Telling Mansion was torn down because a suitable alternative use could not be found.

The movement to save the library is getting a little momentum right now, but if things still progress towards the move, I am all aboard with getting some residents of SE & Lyndhurst (or wherever) together to create an entity to continue public use of the building.

There is also a petition that can be signed at http://www.change.org/petitions/cuy-co-public-library-board-don-t-abandon-historic-telling-mansion

Thank for this great article and magnificent photographs. I grew up with the Telling library and love it -- it is the linchpin of the local community and South Euclid's ONLY piece of significant architecture! if the library sells it, it is absolutely 100% going to be torn down to build ..... condos. Or maybe some "much needed" fast food outlets or dollar stores!

It is part of a big chunk of land, extending from the condos on Dorsch to the east, and past the old Florist shop at the west (which is for sale). That's a huge piece of land for a developer.

There is no logical "other usage" for a 1930s Tudor Mansion -- it's not going to be a B&B or a restaurant, frankly. Not at $900K.

So it will be a catastrophic loss for the community and the library.

Let's call out the person responsible for this: Library Director Sari Feldman! Call her, write her, call Ed Fitzgerald -- demand her resignation! She is out to destroy the library system, and turn out libraries into crappy "media centers' that are like internet cafes! She hates libraries and hates reading and books.

Before Feldman's reign of terror (she also destroyed the nice, modern architect-designed Mayfield regional library!), the County put a couple million into beautifully renovating the Telling mansion....so they were 100% behind it in 2002, now they wish to abandon it and see it destroyed!!!!

LINKS YOU SHOULD KNOW

QUOTABLE

“To vitalize building materials, to animate them with a thought...to charge them with a social significance and value...to impart to them the best that is in the people–such is the real function of the architect.”

—Louis Henri Sullivan

“One of the primary obligations of any work of architecture is to create a sense of place, to respect and enhance a building’s physical and cultural context.”

“Another responsibility is to work within a tradition in a scholarly manner, to be succored but not smothered by the values of architectural culture.”

—Robert A. M. Stern

“The best way to make real architecture is by letting a building evolve out of a place and culture.”

—Samuel Mockbee of Rural Studio

“There is not an important city anywhere in America that does not have a unique character, a particular spirit, and a fascinating history.”

—Kenneth T. Jackson

“The past possesses an accumulation of wisdom which we ignore at our peril.”

—Philip Langdon, fromA Better Place To Live

“The city is the place of availabilities. It is the place where a small boy, as he walks through it, may see something that will tell him what he wants to do his whole life.”

“In the city, the street must be supreme. It is the first institution of the city. The street is a room by agreement, a community room, the walls of which belong to the donors, dedicated to the city for common use. Its ceiling is the sky.”

—Louis Kahn, from Between Silence and Light

“When we build, let us think we build forever.

Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work that our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone upon stone, that a time is to come when these stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, 'See! This our fathers did for us."